Report: Byron Maxwell to leave Seahawks, sign with Eagles

Cornerback Byron Maxwell, who spent his first four years with the Seattle Seahawks and played his way into becoming one of this offseason’s big names in free agency, told ESPN on Sunday that he plans to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles.

2014 was Maxwell’s first full season as a starter, having stepped up admirably in the latter part of Seattle’s 2013 championship season. En route to Super Bowl XLIX, Maxwell made two interceptions, defended 13 passes and had 50 tackles in 13 regular-season games in 2014, making him arguably the most desirable cornerback of this year’s free agency. Getting a higher workload as opposing quarterbacks avoided throwing toward Sherman, Maxwell also added one more interception and 11 tackles in the postseason.

A sixth-round pick in 2011 out of South Carolina, Maxwell, 27, will now reportedly play for former Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly in Philadelphia. No potential contract details were immediately available.

Update: CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported that the Eagles will likely offer Maxwell a six-year contract worth $63 million with $25 million guaranteed. An annual average of $10.5 million would make Maxwell the fifth-highest paid cornerback in the league, according to numbers from OverTheCap.com.

Maxwell’s agent — his new agent, after firing his old one last week — took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon to downplay Maxwell’s statement to ESPN, since players are not allowed to agree to any deals before free agency begins at 1 p.m. PDT Tuesday.

A lot of chatter about Byron Maxwell to Philly…Is Philly interested? Yes. Is Byron Maxwell interested in Philly? Yes. Is it official? No!